Bhubaneswar: Saudi Arabia has put a temporary ban on issuing visas to India including 13 other countries as the Hajj pilgrimage is round the corner. Other neighboring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh are also included in the list along with India. Due to this visa cancellation, Umrah, business and family visits will be halted till June, when the pilgrimage to Makkah would conclude.
The ban of Visa has impacted countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Yemen, and Morocco and so on. This is the step taken by the Soudi government to prevent those who try to perform Hajj without registration. The main factor behind this drastic step is the foreign nationals visiting Saudi Arabia on Umrah on visit visas and taking part in the Hajj with proper registration. Such incidents lead to unfortunate accidents like overcrowding, heat and suffocation. In 2024 Hajj about 12,00 pilgrims list their lives due to this reason.
There are certain loopholes in the system of Hajj registration. The kingdom has specific rules for providing separate slots to different countries for Hajj. The people who want to participate in Hajj can be regulated peacefully and there would be less crowd. This system usually gets bypassed by the foreign nationals. The second loophole is illegal employment. As per the authorities, the foreign nationals use business or family visas for entering Saudi Arabia by disrupting the labour rules as well as visa rules.
As per the official report, this action has no role with international or diplomatic concern. This has only been taken to ensure a better and safer environment for pilgrims. Notably, it has been requested by the authorities to cooperate with the prescribed rules and comply with it.
-OdishaAge
